Mike Roberts, a longtime Berkeley resident, musician, music teacher and environmentalist, wants you to get a heat pump.
Electric-powered devices that operate similarly to refrigerators to both heat and cool the air in a home, heat pumps have been hailed as one of the easiest ways to fight climate change and the solution to high heating bills.
To spread the love for heat pumps, Roberts decided to write a song.
“(I’m Your) Heat Pump” is a humorous ballad that’s written from the point of view of a heat pump — an amorous heat pump who promises to “blow your mind” with “warm nights” of “climatic healing.” Backed by smooth guitar riffs, the suave heat pump croons:
I’m your heat pump. When you want it hot, I’m hot for you. When you want it cool I’m cool with you, baby.
Roberts, who received a master’s degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, currently composes mostly choral music, but during his formative years he was absorbed with writing songs on the electric guitar in rock, jazz and funk styles.
His heat pump song is also a fond tribute to some renowned R&B singers he admires. Marvin Gaye’s mega-hit “Sexual Healing” inspired the “climatic healing” line meant to express how heat pumps can make you feel good and heal the planet at the same time. And the introduction takes its cue from Barry White, the heat pump opening the song with a spoken, come-hither soliloquy:
Baby, tell me what you want. Cool days, warm nights. Yeah, sometimes we all need a little help to make everything just right.
The self-recorded and self-produced song features Roberts playing all the live instruments as well as singing backup vocals. But for the lead role, Roberts approached Will Hammond Jr., a recording artist who co-wrote “Hold You Tight,” a song performed by Tara Kemp that hit the No. 3 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. The two musicians met when their kids were attending Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley, and they began playing in a band together.
Hammond, a Berkeley resident who is passionate about taking action to slow global warming, accepted the role immediately. He and his wife had recently installed solar panels and the song motivated him to learn more about home electrification. A multi-talented singer/songwriter with 20 years of experience working in the music and entertainment industry, Hammond has also taught classes on media arts in Bay Area public schools.
Describing the heat pump as a “cool and funky” character with the ability to seduce people into switching from gas to electric, Hammond also said that the suggestive wordplay incorporates the idea of consent: the heat pump can’t do anything unless you flip his “on” switch.
Heat pump’s lyrics educate listeners about how he works
Between the song’s risqué verses, the pump conveys some basic facts about heat pump technology. For example, the heat pump sings:
I can move heat in or out ‘til you feel what you want to be feeling.
Heat pumps move heat around instead of creating it, making them extremely energy efficient. They can move warmth from the outside air to the inside of a house, or from the inside to the outside, to raise or cool down the temperature until it’s just right.
I’m switched on, sipping on electrons, never gonna burn fuel, ’cause I prefer to keep the planet cool.
Heat pumps run on electricity, not gas, and though they have both pros and cons, they are considered such an important tool for cutting carbon emissions that starting in 2027, Bay Area regulators will require homeowners to use them as replacements for any gas-powered heating units — a move officials estimate could also prevent up to 85 premature deaths per year by improving local air quality.
Don’t matter if you’re living in the sun or snow, any place you go, I’ll be there for you.
Recent advances over the past few years mean heat pumps now work well even in freezing temperatures (they’re taking off in Maine and Minnesota), and their cost (about $7,000 on average) can be heavily offset by a smorgasbord of local, state and federal subsidies.
Roberts says catchy stories are needed about climate change solutions
Roberts said he wrote the song because of the challenges he saw delivering environmental messages that broke through to the mainstream consciousness. He volunteers for the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, an environmental nonprofit that focuses on policies and education to reduce global warming, including the strategy of electrifying America’s buildings to switch away from gas.
With his song, he seeks to use his musical background and sense of humor to engage with people and open up the conversation.
“(I’m Your) Heat Pump” has received interest from the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a nonprofit that runs The Switch Is On, a statewide campaign promoting electrification to reduce climate change.
“This song is so catchy. It’s been stuck in my head for weeks,” said Friday Apaliski, the coalition’s spokesperson. She said the coalition is helping turn the song into a video and hopes it can find “a big broad audience.”
“Advocacy is hard work, and — let’s be honest — sometimes a little boring,” Roberts said. “We need fun, we need beauty, we need stories. We need to reframe our work in new and sometimes quirky ways. These are all tools we can use to rally the people for the planet. So why not an R&B tune sung by a heat pump, for starters?”
Roberts is currently helping the Citizens’ Climate Lobby partner with the city to organize an electrification fair on Earth Day (Saturday, April 20) at the Brower Center. There will be information about heat pump rebates and varieties; in addition to serving as HVAC systems, heat pumps make super-efficient water heaters.
As Roberts and Hammond finalize their song, they welcome input. Follow along on Roberts’ website as the song develops, and email him at mike@hotmike.com with your suggestions.
